Sam Villa E.T.C. Light Professional Ionic Dryer

I was pumped to try this because I've heard ionic dyers are great for fine, thin hair. Low and behold, it worked. The dryer gave my hair some much-needed oomph and volume. The stream of heat is not too hot, which is great because heat is hair's enemy, right? And I love the rubbery feeling of the dryer and handle for easy gripping. It has 2 heat and speed settings-great for bangs since they don't need to be blasted. Out with my old dryer and in with this new one!

INTRODUCING YOUBEAUTY.COM

The newest bookmark in your collection:

A GROUNDBREAKING ONLINE DESTINATION

DEVELOPED BY DR. MEHMET OZ AND DR. MICHAEL ROIZEN

It’s a question as old as time: What makes you beautiful? It’s not only a flattering lipstick shade, or the color of your hair—science shows it’s your happiness, self-esteem, charisma and much more. The perfect haircut for your face shape sure doesn’t hurt, either. Beauty is a combination of inner and outer factors rooted in hard science. Two of the leading names in medicine—Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen—developed YouBeauty.com to arm women with proven tools that use science to measure and improve inner and outer beauty, so they may become healthier, happier people.

“Beauty, like health, is multi-dimensional. Every aspect of your body and mind matters,” says Dr. Oz. “We have the opportunity to use the power of the Internet to give every woman access to the leading science in a very personalized and actionable way.”

Trading unattainable standards of beauty in favor of proven quantitative and qualitative metrics,YouBeauty is the first online resource devoted to attaining optimal health through beauty.

“Stress causes gray hair, poor sleep will increase wrinkles, and your diet will directly affect your skin,” adds Dr. Roizen. “The scientific community has proven all of these facts, and many more. We wanted to create a place where women could improve their beauty and health all at once.”

Here’s how it works: At YouBeauty, you’ll find a series of quizzes based on proven research that examine all the factors that affect your beauty. The website features quizzes that measure personal dimensions like happiness, stress, sleep quality, physical activity levels, skin and hair health, along with tools that find your face shape, facial symmetry and body shape, among others. Your score on each quiz will be compiled to measure your YouQ™. Through an ongoing series of personalized action steps based on your quiz results, you’ll be encouraged to improve your YouQ™ to reach your full beauty potential, while learning about yourself in new and important ways.

Unlock your individual beauty potential with YouBeauty.com:

· Take specialized quizzes in nutrition, sleep, relationships, your body, face, hair, skin and mind.

· Receive easy to understand numerical and graphical results based on each scientifically validated scale on your personal profile page. You’ll be able to see where you stand in real time, and anonymously compare your progress to that of other quiz takers.

· Improve your scores with easy to understand,personalized action steps, delivered daily to your inbox.

· Explore the YouLearn section for the latest health-meets-beauty news and feature stories, along with a rich research section consisting of the most important beauty-impacting studies.

· Chat about hot topics in the YouTalk community.

· Tap into expert information with interactive columns written by experts in their fields, including Dr. Oz, Dr. Roizen, dermatologist Dr. Amy Wechsler, iconic hair stylist Guido, psychology professor Arthur Markman, nutritionist Kristin Kirkpatrick, celebrity makeup artist Fiona Stiles, prominent plastic surgeon Dr. Arthur Perry, women’s wellness expert Dr. Beth Ricanati, among others.

· Learn about implementing a healthier lifestyle with columns by model Karolina Kurkova and “The Dorm Room Diet” author Daphne Oz.

YouBeauty.com

The science of a beautiful you

Vote for your favorite & win Slatkin & Co.

The home fragrance authorities, Bath & Body Works and Slatkin & Co. are pleased to announce the three lucky winners of the MyCandleRecipe contest, selected by Harry Slatkin, Creator of Slatkin & Co., Erica Tucker, owner of Sweet E’s Mini Bakeshop in Los Angeles, and Givaudan Fragrance Expert, Jeanine Guerrero during a live cooking event held in New York City.

• Tim Ong of Houston, Texas with Strawberry Pistachio Delight
• Mary Shivers of Ada, Oklahoma with Tropical Tangerine Cake
• NayletLa Rochelle of Miami, Florida with Maple Sticky Toffee Pudding.

Now the expert judges are turning the decision over to you to select the winner who deserves the ultimate grand prize – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join Harry Slatkin in New York City to watch as his or her dessert turned into a gourmand candle. Simply log on to MyCandleRecipe.com to view exclusive cooking event footage and vote for your favorite contestant. FIVE lucky voters will also win a year’s supply of Slatkin & Co. candles! Voting begins Wednesday, August 3rd and closes at Midnight on Tuesday, August 9th.

Win a Clarisonic Mia

During the month of July, Clarisonic will be celebrating the Evolution of Skin Care with Weekday Mia Giveaways. The brand will be providing fans and those interested in skin care with the videos of demonstrations. In addition, they will ask fans fun questions about what they learned and what they know about Clarisonic. Winners will be selected each day from among those who answered the question correctly to win a Clarisonic Mia.

Access the contest here: http://www.facebook.com/clarisonic

Slatkin & Co. Candle

Okay, the Sparkling Mojito candle is delicious!

Bath & Body Works totally lucked out in its pairing with Slatkin & Co., and we all benefit with great quality candles that are easily attainable!

Sparkling Mojito is a sweet, yet very clean smell.

Sugared citrus with just the right hint of mint.

Not at all over-powering, perfect pick-me-up!

Well done.

Dr. Brandt UV SPF 30 Face

Claim:

Formulated to provide advanced broad spectrum UVA (PA+++) protection against UVB rays (SPF 30). Dr. Brandt advanced sun care helps decrease pigmentation induced by UV exposure; preventing photo-aging. Designed with dry-touch technology to absorb quickly, leaving the skin smooth and soft with a shine-free finish.

Truth:

Totally works! No greasy or kabuki face, no sunblock shards, no melt-offs!

My problem:

The container, with its convenient pump dispenser, is too small. While great for traveling, I want a honking giant bottle at home to last the whole summer.

All the other sunblocks should take notice.

BoomBoom's truth on threading

From Brow-master Boom Boom:

The Skinny on Threading

Thread or wax, what’s a girl to do?! For Boom Boom, owner of Boom Boom Brow Bar, there’s no question, wax it baby! Here’s the skinny on why…

“When done correctly, threading removes the hair follicle from the root, however, many people tell me that they have to thread every week-10 days. Suspicious…this happens when the thread simply cuts the hair instead of pulling it out from the root. It’s basically the equivalent of shaving which is a BIG no no, because the hair will eventually get really coarse and resemble stubble,” explains Boom Boom.

Note to all, if threading more than once a month you might as well get an awesome brow job for just $20 and be done with it! With gentle warm, NOT HOT, waxes like Boom Boom’s Flash Wax, burning is NEVER an issue – EVA! For those who fret about bumps, no worries, Boom Boom uses bacitracin ointment – an antibiotic that prevents infection and reduces irritation.

The other challenge with threading is it tends to produce a particular brow style that Boom Boom believes removes too much off the underneath of the front of the brow bone. It eventually creates rainbow brow, not big bold beautiful arches. “We do lots of rehab for this – it’s a cultural style thing and I’m more into big beautiful brows,” adds Boom Boom.

Truth be told, Boom Boom tested threading out on her lip once and was not comfortable being face to face with someone who was holding a piece of thread in their mouth over Boom Boom’s mouth (yuck). Boom Boom thinks cleanliness is next to fabulousness, so she almost died!

The Skinny: To reduce hair growth and prevent coarse stubble, wax it baby!